Hell On The Humber 2013

Date: 17th – 18th August Location: Humber Bridge, East Yorkshire, England Weather: heavy rain to start and very windy throughout Terrain: Tarmac, concrete Distance: 62 miles Time: 12 hours

I really have been looking forward to this race as it is quite a fun event, although it does involve running over the same bloody bridge for 12 hrs… So why do I come back…well the people that compete it this event are so much fun and the organisers are good humored too. The race is organised by Toro race team based nearby and it has been running since 2011it getting busier and busier every year. It is a very spectator friendly race as you can see runners all the time whether on the bridge or at the turn around point..there never out of sight.

A few weeks before the race I went to Profeet in Fulham who specialize in insoles and custom made shoes. I had some comfort insoles made for me as the pressure on the right foot was much greater than that on my left foot, So this race was the first first time I was trying them out.

So on the 16th August and as per usual my journey began at King Cross station and I made my way from there to Doncaster and then changed there to get another train to Hessle which is very close to the bridge and to my B&B. So with all the trains running on time I’m at my B&B in good time and sort out my things and head to Tesco in Hull for some final nutrition and food for that night. The next morning I try and spend more time in bed than normal as the race does not begin until 7pm so I sort out all of my nutrition and sort out my running kit for the race..and have a wander into the local village. While I was on Facebook I realised that some people had already pitched their tent near the start..this was really cheeky and it wasn’t even 2pm yet…I mean really…don’t people have a life….ha ha ha…OK So I decided to join them after all..better than being in my room for 5 more hours.. I packed my things and headed to the area where we were camping and that was where the turn around and start were too. Said hi the everyone I had meet previously and HOTH 2012 and Helloween 2012 and then went to get a good position for my tent which was about 20 yards after the turnaround so inflow with the race. Put up my tent and arranged all of my nutrition and clothing..and just chilled until until there was time for the briefing. Briefing time and then got changed and stretching. Time came to go to the start and this was when the heavens opened and it started to rain really hard…Karl (the organiser) smile grew bigger and bigger the lower the numbers go on the countdown got from 10-1..and we were off.

As normal I started off at a steady pace, 2 weeks ago i competed in a 100 miler so I was just seeing how my legs would cope and how far I could go.. The first few crossing were good really really windy on the bridge..not to sure but it felt like 25-20mp, needed to pee quite a lot too…which is good that meant I was well hydrated.. I continued with the same pace throughout the race. What was funny about this time round was that they had put signs up and down the bridge saying things like “an ipod would be good now” (they were banded in this race), “ you are weak” , “go Home” you get the idea…these really made me laugh during the race… It’s really nice to run with others in these types of events to..keeps you both going and keeps you sane too..Good to run with you Paul… By the time It got to about 2ish…my right foot started to hurt and so I changed my shoes and my dressing and head back out…the pain sought of got better but not much…so I ended up power walking and then running for the last 2 1/2 hours…but by the time came to 6:35 and I was going to the turnaround..they said to me…”well done THOMAS…are you done..and a voice said..No he’ll do one more lap…(That was Natalie Killick)….Thanks Nat….so off I went to try and get to the other side by 7am..I managed it with 5 minutes to spare yiippeee so the lonely walk back started…by the time I got back most of the others had gone home…so I said my goodbyes and packed my tent up and made my way back to my B&B. Got there and ordered breakfast..while waiting I had a shower and packed the rest of my things… Breakfast was really good…after i made my way to the train station to get a train to hull then i london… I was really happy with my performance of 62 miles considering how close it was to my last race of 100.. Shame I wouldn’t be competing in this race next year as I need to concentrate in much more hiller event as I’m aiming to compete in the UTMB in a few years time

Big thanks to Baz, Abigail and that bloody devil for making it fun during the race…

As you may or may not know I do these events to raise awareness for this website and funds for CTRT. if you would like to donated to them please follow this LINK and all the details are there